Gerry Anderson was a visionary, creating some of Britain’s most enduring television programmes. His futuristic shows included Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet, Space Precinct, Space: 1999 and more. Anderson’s contributions to pop culture and creation of supermarionation has left a large legacy.
There are still new stories from Anderson to tell, including Project SWORD, a television project that was never made. Thanks to Time Bomb Comics and Andersen Entertainment Ltd Project SWORD will be told, sixty years later, as a graphic novel. A preview of the upcoming work, due to be released later this year, can be seen below.
Gerry Anderson’s Project SWORD
Project SWORD imagines Earth in the year 3031, after it has been hit by a devastating meteorite strike. The impact does not wipe out life on the planet, but destabilises it. Sea levels rise, causing whole regions to disappear, as volcanos begin to erupt across the globe. Civilisation exists, for now, but faces an uncertain future. Its only hope lies with the Space World Organisation for Research and Development – Project SWORD.
Project SWORD was almost a television series. It even had toys and an annual released to build up excitement for the show. However, it was never made, leaving fans to only speculate to what could have been.
“The creator brief was simple: to imagine Gerry Anderson’s Project SWORD as a popular contemporary TV show being produced today, but still retaining the unique Anderson tone and style of old, and then create a faithful comics adaptation of one of its episodes!” – Steve Tanner, Time Bomb Comics Publisher
The creative team
This full-length graphic novel is part of Time Bomb Comics ongoing licensing partnership with Andersen Entertainment Ltd. The Spectrum Anthology included stories from the worlds of New Captain Scarlet, Space Precinct and Terrahawks. Project SWORD is written by Lizbeth Myles, who has worked on Doctor Who, Blake’s 7 and Survivor. She is joined by artist James Gray who worked on the aforementioned Spectrum Anthology, as well as IDW’s Star Trek.
“It was a fascinating challenge. Gerry Anderson has created many incredible worlds, but few exist as a single annual for an unmade telly show. Even with so little material, I wanted to be true to what there was, which meant drawing on nibbles of world-building, characters with only a panel or two, and epic vehicles that had pictures but were never in any of the annual’s stories.” – Lizbeth Myles
Exclusive Project SWORD content
Time Bomb Comics will be launching a Kickstarter campaign for Gerry Anderson’s Project SWORD at the end of April, also feature exclusive reward content, through which advance digital and printed editions of the book will be available before the full release later this year.
The Kickstarter campaign can be found at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/timebomb/gerry-andersons-project-sword
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